Pages

Friday, February 24, 2012

Your iPhone: A Guide to the Magic

Tech is my mistress when it comes to my love of all things Disney, but sometimes, that relationship can be a little progressive and all three of us can have a good time together.

The load screen. Verizon still has ties
to the app.

I love Disney, and I love apps, and sometimes the two work together in harmony, like the new Disneyland Explorer App for the iPad. I wrote a review for it (which was up here, until I tried to edit it on my phone and deleted the whole thing somehow) and it's a great free app, offering a lot of interactive features and an immersive experience you'd expect from Disney.

Disney seems to be a roll in 2012, as today, the Mobile Magic App, previously exclusive on the Verizon network, has been released on all iOS devices! I am super excited about this because I have always drooled over Big Red exclusive app, but now, I can use it.

The app is great for finding character, getting around the park, making dining reservations, and many other things. I was looking at the wait times and Fastpass availability, though, and their system is disappointing. Instead of specific wait times, it displays that attractions are "See Now" as in no wait, "Moderate," or "In High Demand." This could require guesswork, which is a design flaw. Just tell me the time!

See what I'm talking about?

The biggest feature I was looking forward to was seeing when the Fastpass times were without having to walk up to the attraction, a function I heard the app delivered. It does, but again, only kind of. It's a lot more black and white on the app, informing users only if there are any Fastpasses left. If you know the parks well enough, you know that after 2 p.m. on a crowded day, it's going to be hard to get a Fastpass for any ride where the shorter wait time could come in handy.

I like things to be specific, and the app has a lot of general information. It could do better.

Let me know what you think, and how the app functions in the parks, and compares to the Verizon-only version!